In economics, what do we mean by the term "efficient"?

Question

In economics, what do we mean by the term "efficient"?

Answer 1

Efficiency is a general term in economics describing how well a system is performing, in generating the maximum output for given inputs with available technology. Efficiency is improved if more output is generated without changing inputs, or in other words, the amount of "friction" or "waste" is reduced.

Answer 2

There are different meanings attached to the term efficient depending on the context of economics in wg\hich it is used, the broad meaning being maximum net benefits situation given the constraints and the environment. Efficient  system of economics is a description of an allocation that is Pareto efficient. In an endowment economy, an allocation of goods to agents is Pareto Optimal if no other allocation of the same goods would be preferred by every agent. Pareto optimal is sometimes abbreviated as PO.

Economic efficiency is a general term in economics describing how well a system is performing, in generating the maximum desired output for given inputs with available technology. Efficiency is improved if more output is generated without changing inputs, or in other words, the amount of "friction" or "waste" is reduced.

A system can be called economically efficient if:

No one can be made better off without making someone else worse off.

More output cannot obtained without increasing the amount of inputs.

An economic system is more efficient if it can provide more goods and services for society without using more resources. Market economies are generally believed to be more efficient than other alternatives. The first fundamental welfare theorem provides some basis for this belief, as it states that any perfectly competitive market equilibrium is efficient (but only if no market imperfections exist).

Microeconomic reform are policies whose stated goal is to reduce economic distortions, and increase economic efficiency. However, there is no clear theoretical basis for the belief that removing a market distortion will increase economic efficiency. The Theory of the Second Best states that if there is some unavoidable market distortion in one sector, a move toward greater market perfection in another sector may actually decrease efficiency.

There are several alternate measures of economic efficiency, these include:

Pareto efficiency

Kaldor-Hicks efficiency

X-efficiency

Allocative efficiency

Distributive efficiency

Productive efficiency

Optimisation of a social welfare function

Utility maximization

Production proceeds at the lowest possible per unit cost.

These definitions of efficiency are not exactly equivalent. However, they all encompass the idea that nothing more can be achieved given the resources available.